Surf Report get to grips with Matunas Cold Water Surf Wax

A couple of weeks ago, we were sent some Matunas Cold Water Wax to put through its paces, but it has taken until today to finally get some sort of a wave to try it out on. Although the Surf was pretty average and not worth shouting about, the Matunas did the job and has left me with more to talk about than the waves did!

For anyone not familiar with the ethos of Matunas, this is a Californian based company who have been producing Surf Wax since 1998 and pride themselves on using only natural products that are non toxic and biodegradable. In fact all the ingredients that go into every bar of Matunas are home grown, all natural products from the State of California.

The first thing I do with every bar of wax I get (and I am pretty sure I am not the only one) is to smell it! I think it takes me back in time when I was a fresh-faced grom and smelt Surf Wax for the first time, and this is exactly what I did with my bar of Matunas. I have to say it smelt delicious, but I was left a little unsure of what exactly the “flavour” was. After some debate with my kids and my wife, we agreed it was a berry, vanilla mix. It didn’t seem to have the strength of smell of other waxes I’ve tried before, but that can only be a good thing and due to the lack of chemically enhanced odours?

The packaging itself is exactly what it needs to be, no flash box or wrapped in bundles of polythene, just a nice simple recycled paper sleeve that has been printed with Soy Ink. Simple, effective and eco friendly, something I hadn’t ever really considered before, but as I paddled out this morning I felt happier in the knowledge I wasn’t dragging chemicals and resins out into the ocean with me.

Now the wax that I was testing out was a bar of Matunas Cold, which is intended for use in waters of 16ºC and below, which here in the UK is all year round! In fact the sea temperature this morning was about 8-9ºC so ideal conditions to run a little bit of testing! One thing I did like about the design of the block is that you can snap it in two, which creates a triangle shape of Wax that is easy to grip and makes the waxing process that little bit easier.

The wax was nice and soft and easy to use, I applied it straight to my board without a base coat and found it easy to get on, although it dragged a little when I first started waxing my board.

Once applied, the wax was really tacky and as I paddled out, it held the board firmly below me and there was no slipping of the board from side to side. As for when it came to riding the wave, I had no issues at all with the Wax and found that it allowed me to anchor my feet down and push into the turns but also allowed for any slight adjustment of my feet. Following the Surf although it didn’t really need it, I dragged the comb through the wax and I am pleased to say there is plenty of life left in the Matunas yet.

So, to sum up, this Matunas Wax did exactly what was asked of it and even though it is missing a load of petrochemicals from its make up, it performed as well as any other Wax I have previously used. The packaging is simple and eco friendly, but maybe the Wax doesn’t have the same pungency of smell as other Waxes.

Matunas offer all different Waxes, including Basecoat, Cool, Warm and Tropical as well as the Cold I have sampled today. Wax isn’t the only thing that Matunas produce though, they have a great looking range of candles that I would imagine subtly fill the home with a gorgeous smell, as well as Lip Balm, Sunscreen, Snowboard Wax and even Air Fresheners for the car.

To find out more about this Eco Friendly company and the Matunas range or to buy any of the products mentioned, head over to the Matunas website here and check out the video below of the founder of Matunas, Matthew Mattoon telling you all about his organic company. If you haven’t ever tried Matunas, don’t take my word for it, give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised and the planet will thank you for it too. If you have, let us know how you got on – Are you a regular Matunas user?